L.A.I.R is a dragon riding action game released exclusively for the PlayStation 3. It initially required use of the sixaxis to control the dragon in flight but has since had a patch released that has added analogue stick support, added extra playable dragons, and rumble support for the DualShock 3 controller.
The story focuses on two different cultures and is set in a land ravaged by volcanoes that have made life exceedingly difficult for the architectural Asylians and the earthly Mokai that inhabit it. The Mokai are seen as savages by the Asylians who believe the volcanoes are retribution from their one god for the Mokai's belief in different gods. Regular attacks on the Asylian city by the Mokai and their war beasts are countered by the Asylian's dragon riders, known as the Skyguard. Struggling to obtain food and faced with the possibility of extinction at the hands of their enemies, the Mokai are forced to arrange a peace meeting with the Asylians. During the meeting an assassination takes place and the Mokai are framed for it. Their betrayal leads Rohn, of the Asylian army's skyguard, to start to question his people's views and his superiors motives. After a confrontation with his friend and newly appointed commander of the Skyguard, Loden, and then being deceived into committing an amoral act, Rohn decides to leave his people to join his former enemies.
The entire game will be spent on the back of a dragon, both in the air and on the ground. The sixasis is used to steer the dragon in the desired direction and pressing either the square or circle button to use Rohn's chain attack or the dragon's fire breath. Repeatedly using the dragon's fire will tire it out and the blast will gradually get weaker until you allow the beast to rest. Combat and steering with the sixasis will take some getting used too and a training ground is provided to adjust and practice. Enemies can be locked-on too and engaged in a one-on-one aerial battle in which both plummet clawing at each other or you can fly up alongside one another, dodging, or ramming until one dies. This tends to be very risky and it's hard not to come out severely scathed. Occasionally ground troops will need to be taken out either by flying low and showering them with fire breath or you can land then use fire, maul, or devour them to regain some health and have a chance to witness the scene played out in slow motion.
Some missions will have multiple objectives, such as taking out war beasts or keeping morale up (indicated by the top center bar).
Some missions will require Rohn to defend giant sting ray-like creatures called mantas, take out various war-beasts, catapults, ships, troops, boss monsters, bomb cities, take out specific structures, or keep morale up. The problem is that there is always so much going on that its easy to become overwhelmed and lost in the fray. It is not uncommon, especially when the mission goal is to take out a specific target to get lost or have trouble telling friend from foe. A rage meter filled by killing opponents can be activated to slow down time and highlight enemies, helping to ease the confusion. If you ever wander too far from the battle or your mission goal, a yellow arrow will point you back to your destination.
The graphics during game-play hold up well, even when compared to more recent games but do occasionally display a sharp edge or weird sparkle on buildings. The amount of detail given to characters in cut-scenes is impressive and could easily rival some of the newer releases. Sounds given to the dragons and monsters are fresh sounding but it's greatest acoustic asset is its soundtrack which was written by John Debney who had previously only done music for films. The score was performed with a 90-piece orchestra and received critical acclaim with some calling it "one of the strongest video game scores" --> L.A.I.R Playlist. On April 2014 a limited edition 2-disc soundtrack that included the live concert suite performed by the The Orchestra Filarmonia and Ziryab Choir at the BSO Spirit Awards was released in a 2,000 print run.
L.A.I.R has an intriguing story backed up by a stellar soundtrack. It was one of the few games to make use of the sixaxis, and while I never experienced any trouble with it, I have seen plenty of other people struggle to adjust to the unorthodox control scheme. Things aren't helped by the hectic gameplay, which always seems to have too much going on at once. It's fun, its frustrating, and there isn't anything else quite like it. L.A.I.R is hard to recommend. If you value story over gameplay, or are capable of finding enjoyment in the dragon riding aspect alone, then it may be worth a try.
First posted to videogamegeek.com
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